I had a friend who tried to use a cheaper compound for bowfishing, but his string kept jumping off the cam for some reason. If you are on a limited budget try something like the PSE Kingfisher. If you want the cadillac get the E-Rad from AMS. My son started bowfishing at about 10 years old and we traded up in bows as he could pull more weight. Now uses the E-Rad bow and mops up on trash fish regularly